Design and engineering
by Team Metropolia

The Biofore Concept Car is designed and manufactured by students from the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

“Sustainability is a major subject globally. We were excited to be able to design and build a vehicle that would demonstrate that already today we have biomaterials that are a real alternative to traditional oil-based materials. During the past four years of building the Biofore Concept Car, our students have come to see that these biomaterials are of high quality, durable and also offer new design opportunities,” says Pekka Hautala, Project Director from Metropolia. 

“The Biofore Concept Car showcases the potential of UPM’s wood-based materials. Not only for the automotive industry, but also for a wide range of other industrial and consumer applications. The possibilities are endless," says Hanna Maula, Vice President of Communications and Brand at UPM.

Powered by UPM BioVerno

The Biofore Concept Car is no traditional concept car. It’s the real thing – designed to be street-legal and ready for a spin. A car is of no use unless it takes you from A to B. The Biofore Concept Car does just this – only a lot more sustainably.

The Biofore Concept Car runs on renewable diesel, UPM BioVerno. A fuel that has been produced 100% outside food value chain. This innovative renewable diesel is developed and refined by UPM. The fuel will decrease greenhouse gas emissions remarkably in comparison to fossil fuels, and it is suitable for all diesel engines.

UPM BioVerno briefly

• High quality renewable diesel
• Compatible with all diesel engines and EU and US diesel standards
• Has similar properties to fossil diesel
• Made from crude tall oil, a residue of pulp production
• Distributed in gas stations
• Cuts greenhouse gas emissions remarkably compared to fossil fuels

Read more about UPM BioVerno

Biomaterials that exceed your expectations

The Biofore Concept Car improves the sustainability of a car’s lifecycle in many ways. First, by replacing traditionally plastic components with ones made from biomaterials, the overall weight is reduced significantly, which leads to lower fuel consumption.

Second, the parts are recyclable and have a lower ecological footprint in production. All biomaterial-based components are safe, durable and ecological.

New design opportunities

By using renewable materials like UPM Formi and UPM Grada, businesses can reinvent their design approaches. UPM’s biomaterials can be used to create lighter and recyclable end products that can also aesthetically bear new characteristics via wooden textures.

The next generation

The automotive industry is going through a major paradigm shift. All traditional forms of power output, fuels, materials and vehicle types are being questioned. The choices we make in the near future are crucial in redefining the passenger car as a more responsible option for transportation.

Next step in renewable biomaterials

We not only need to cut down on fuel consumption, but also make sure that automotive production value chains use renewable materials. Power must be produced with less emissions and burden on non-renewable resources. Fibre based composite materials provide similar safety, durability and quality in automotive end-uses as traditional materials. Components that are currently made of plastic can often be replaced with renewable biomaterials without any compromises.

Read more about UPM renewable materials